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Depending on where you live and your heating needs, a corn-burning stove can be a very suitable and cost-effective option. The popularity of corn-burning stoves has risen drastically in recent years, mainly due to the wide availability and low cost of corn in many parts of the country. Learning some basic facts about corn-burning stoves can help you decide if this is the right choice for your household.

Cost

Corn-burning pellet stoves are comparable in price to wood-burning pellet stoves, but the cost of operation depends on the availability of corn in your area. If you live where corn is grown, it will likely be very cheap to operate a corn-burning stove, but if you live somewhere corn has to be shipped, such as New England, it will be much more expensive. It's important to price out the cost of fuel in your area before deciding what kind of stove to purchase.

Operation and Maintenance

A corn-burning pellet stove works the same way other pellet stoves do. The stove has a hopper that stores the pellets, and an auger feeds them into the fire pot. You can adjust the auger to feed the fire pot more quickly or more slowly. Corn pellets do leave more ash than wood pellets, so corn stoves must be cleaned more frequently than wood pellet stoves. You should also have a protected place to store your fuel, as corn can attract pests if you leave it out too long.

Efficiency

Corn-burning pellet stoves burn at about 85% efficiency, which is comparable to wood pellet stoves and much higher than wood-burning stoves. Because they're so efficient, corn-burning stoves can be the cheapest way by far to heat a house in areas where corn is cheap. However, conventional wood stoves give off more radiant heat than stoves that burn either corn or wood pellets.

Environmental Impact

Corn burns very cleanly -- so cleanly, in fact, that no visible smoke emerges from the stove's exhaust pipe. This, combined with the renewability of corn and its efficiency, make it a very eco-friendly option. However, the chemicals involved in growing corn can make its exhaust slightly more toxic.

About the Author

Amy Wilde has worked as a grant developer, copy editor, writing tutor and writer. Based in Portland, Ore., she covers topics related to society, religion and culture. Wilde holds a Bachelor of Arts in English literature and classical civilization from the University of Toronto.